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SMITHVILLE, Texas (KXAN) — 11,000 Texans are anxiously waiting for an organ transplant, while more than half the adults in the state have not signed up to become a donor. That means the clock is ticking for a lot of people, including Floyd Greer in Smithville, who remembers the day five years ago when he was told both of his kidneys were failing. “I was whew, what am I going to do? That was basically it, what am I going to do? My main goal when things started going bad, I wasn’t going to give up. I thought I am here and I’ve got a lot more stuff to do.”

Greer is just 45 years old, with lots of life to live. He had to quit his long haul trucker job when he got the news and he knew it would be a long wait. He recalls, “Initially they told me it would take approximately five years. That’s how long it takes on the waiting list. I said okay what do I need to do to make it that long.”

What he needed to do was dialysis, every night, for nine hours. “I wouldn’t be here now, I’m glad I made that decision. It’s kept me here, it makes me feel better. Is it a chore, yes it is.” He smiles. He explains how his condition restricts his diet, his travel, his time away from the house. His wife Terri lives it with him. She says, “When he hooks up at night he doesn’t go to sleep. He rocks in bed. He stays up half the time and when it’s almost time to get up that’s when he goes to sleep.” Continue reading